Opposed to the last year, when the state government had disallowed the Kanwar Yatra in the wake of the COVID19 outbreak, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given his nod for this year’s procession.

The Kanwar Yatra will begin from July 25. Officials have been asked to coordinate with neighbouring states of Bihar and Uttarakhand to ensure COVID19 guidelines are followed, a senior official was reported as saying today, on July 7.

Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary, Navneet Sehgal told news agency PTI that “Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked to coordinate with neighbouring Bihar and Uttarakhand and ensure Covid guidelines are following during the yatra.”

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But Uttarakhand says NO

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand government has appealed to officers of the neighbouring states to ask devotees not to come to Haridwar this month for the annual pilgrimage that involves collecting water from the Ganga river.

The appeal was issued during a meeting of the inter-state coordination committee on the yatra, chaired by Uttarakhand’s Director General of Police Ashok Kumar. It is reported that senior police officers from Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Delhi were present at the meeting.

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DGP Kumar stated that the Uttarakhand police would book those found entering Haridwar under the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act, and place them under quarantine. 

As part of the pilgrimage, ‘Kanwariyas’ (devotees of Lord Shiva) collect water from Ganga at Haridwar to offer it at Shiva temples in their areas.